DETECTIVES from Huddersfield spearheaded an operation to catch luxury car thieves.

They raided seven addresses in Bradford thought to be at the centre of a criminal ring to steal high-performance motors.

More than £1m-worth of vehicles including Bentleys, Porches, BMWs, Audis, Mercedes and Range Rovers – some stolen in Huddersfield – have been recovered.

Specialist detectives and financial investigators from Kirklees Police have frozen more than £2m in cash and assets held by suspects.

Five people have been arrested.

It comes after an investigation into so-called Hanoi burglaries – incidents in which thieves break into houses to steal car keys – in Kirklees.

The investigation led police to suspect that many of the offences were being carried out by thieves living in Bradford.

The probe was widened to include the whole of the West Yorkshire area and included work with Trading Standards.

Some of the stolen cars have been returned to owners or held by officers to prevent them being moved or sold, including a new Ford Mustang sports car.

All suspects have been bailed pending further inquiries.

Det Sgt Guy Shackleton from Kirklees CID said: “Investigations are continuing and we have now managed to freeze over £2m in cash and assets which are linked to this enquiry as well as suspending trading at a business used in connection with this matter.”

Det Sgt Shackleton said efforts would continue to seize criminal assets and to take action under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which aims to stop people profiting from crime.

He said: “The Proceeds of Crime Act is a very important piece of legislation for us and residents can be assured we will act to seize any assets which are linked to criminality to eventually see them re-invested into communities and the fight against crime.”